Band argues that the essence of the tales was "the elaborate system of the se rot" (divine emanat... more Band argues that the essence of the tales was "the elaborate system of the se rot" (divine emanations). The reference to state apparatuses and governmental systems were thus lumped together with other folkloric motifs. For example, according to Ora Wiskind-Elper, the protagonists of the tales, the "beautiful princess, clever son, evil king, (and) loyal servant," are all symbolic representations of theological concepts: "the Shekhinah, . . . the Messiah, the true [t]zaddik, or the King of Kings." 6 In Naḥman's tales, Arthur Green concludes succinctly, "the king is always God." 7 As a result, interest in the nontheological aspects of the tales was con ned almost exclusively to an examination of their relationship to folklore. Simkha Petrushka, Avinadav Lipsker, Mordekhai Mantel, Chone Shmeruk, and Bella Kolomakina, among others, sought to locate a speci c "original" folktale, or a folkloric motif that, according to them, inspired Naḥman. These general theories aside, the rapidly burgeoning scholarship dedicated to Bratslav literature has revealed that, in the case of "The King who Decreed Conversion," the interpretive model does not fully align with the allegorical structure of the tale. Scholars of Hasidism generally agree that in "The King who Decreed Conversion" one cannot apply the aforementioned formula that "the king is always God." The tale centers on a royal dynasty: a king who issued a harsh decree for the Jewish population to convert or leave the country and his three successors. Throughout the tale, it is clear from the way in which the king who decreed conversion operates that this is a reference to a esh-and-blood monarch. Wiskind-Elper associates the kings with biblical monarchs, while Aryeh Kaplan links them with European absolutist monarchs. 9 David Roskies and Yizhak Lewis, in turn, place the political events in the tale in the context of the early nineteenth-century Russian Empire. Be that as it may, there is scholarly consensus that the king who decreed conversion is a king and not God, and that the folktale-like narrative allegorizes political events rather than kabbalistic notions. The idea that there is a political dimension to the production of meaning in "The King who Decreed Conversion," I argue, is not an exception but the rule. The interpretive model I offer extends to most of Naḥman's canonical tales and accounts for the borrowing from folklore, the political dimension, and the theological dimension. Drawing on the extensive body of scholarship that has mined the af nity between Naḥman's tales and folklore, I wish to direct the scholarly [64]
Band argues that the essence of the tales was "the elaborate system of the se rot" (divine emanat... more Band argues that the essence of the tales was "the elaborate system of the se rot" (divine emanations). The reference to state apparatuses and governmental systems were thus lumped together with other folkloric motifs. For example, according to Ora Wiskind-Elper, the protagonists of the tales, the "beautiful princess, clever son, evil king, (and) loyal servant," are all symbolic representations of theological concepts: "the Shekhinah, . . . the Messiah, the true [t]zaddik, or the King of Kings." 6 In Naḥman's tales, Arthur Green concludes succinctly, "the king is always God." 7 As a result, interest in the nontheological aspects of the tales was con ned almost exclusively to an examination of their relationship to folklore. Simkha Petrushka, Avinadav Lipsker, Mordekhai Mantel, Chone Shmeruk, and Bella Kolomakina, among others, sought to locate a speci c "original" folktale, or a folkloric motif that, according to them, inspired Naḥman. These general theories aside, the rapidly burgeoning scholarship dedicated to Bratslav literature has revealed that, in the case of "The King who Decreed Conversion," the interpretive model does not fully align with the allegorical structure of the tale. Scholars of Hasidism generally agree that in "The King who Decreed Conversion" one cannot apply the aforementioned formula that "the king is always God." The tale centers on a royal dynasty: a king who issued a harsh decree for the Jewish population to convert or leave the country and his three successors. Throughout the tale, it is clear from the way in which the king who decreed conversion operates that this is a reference to a esh-and-blood monarch. Wiskind-Elper associates the kings with biblical monarchs, while Aryeh Kaplan links them with European absolutist monarchs. 9 David Roskies and Yizhak Lewis, in turn, place the political events in the tale in the context of the early nineteenth-century Russian Empire. Be that as it may, there is scholarly consensus that the king who decreed conversion is a king and not God, and that the folktale-like narrative allegorizes political events rather than kabbalistic notions. The idea that there is a political dimension to the production of meaning in "The King who Decreed Conversion," I argue, is not an exception but the rule. The interpretive model I offer extends to most of Naḥman's canonical tales and accounts for the borrowing from folklore, the political dimension, and the theological dimension. Drawing on the extensive body of scholarship that has mined the af nity between Naḥman's tales and folklore, I wish to direct the scholarly [64]
Uploads
Papers by Dynes Ofer
Book Reviews by Dynes Ofer